Weathering a Steam Locomotive 

I appreciate your confidence in me. I never expected to be mentioned in the same sentence as Luke Towan or Larry the DCC Guy.

@@JCsRiptrack I personally think that your work is just as high in quality as theirs, and you absolutely deserve to be recognized accordingly :)

Glad it helped! Even though this was my first steam locomotive, I had done a lot of thinking and research into how they weather beforehand. Since my layout isn't steam era I just hadn't had the opportunity yet.

Thanks DTW. I'm going to be updating some of my earlier videos that really need it soon, including some of the weathering basics. :)

Thanks Rick. I think the most important step in weathering is researching. In real life, weathering is a natural process, rust doesn’t appear overnight, dust is dependent upon how air flows around something, and the wet soot dust on steam locomotives was something new that I had noticed when I was up close to the real thing. A bit of trivia, the steam locomotives at Heritage Park are oil-fired, but many of the steam locomotives operating in Western Canada were converted to oil in the years before diesel.

Thank you.

There are several ways to do it. The easier, but more expensive option is to run Digital Command Control. It's worth the investment, but you don't necessarily need it to get started. If you haven't seen it, I've done a video on it here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-F7XsvcjgBuA.html

@@JCsRiptrack thanks for the reply I used to have a old DC, it was from the early 70's ho scale, CN loco. I wish I still had it, but with that power I knew how it worked. With the new digital how reliable are they, I'm not price scared if the product lasts.

There are differences in locomotive quality that others are better to comment on than I am. In N-Scale, I've had good luck with Kato, Rapido, Scaletrains, Intermountain, and Atlas, mostly DCC. I have two Kato DC locomotives that I have to install a decoder in, but that's a fairly easy upgrade. I've had other locomotives that haven't been so easy, and I've had people install decoders for me.

Thank you! Cheers!

I think you're right. I usually make a point of doing clear-coats between most of my step, so I've not encountered it yet. However, it may be worthwhile doing an experiment on something separate to see if it is the fixer and Mission Models paint not liking each other... even with a clear coat. I'd be more inclined to try an acrylic clear coat than an enamel if possible. Thoughts?

@@JCsRiptrack You've got me looking around to see if I happen to have any space pieces of terrain to try this out on! The sealer I typically use right now is Vallejo Mecha varnish, which is acrylic. As to why the enamel fixer, well, when I purchased it I didn't realize there were acrylic as well as enamel ones. The initial model I'd done this on (Reaper's Mystic Circle) also wound up getting tacky once the fixer had dried, which probably would indicate some sort of reaction between the fixer and the Bones (PVC I think?) material the model was made of, so I wouldn't doubt it reacted with the layer of acrylic primer... Doubly so since that tackyness went away with a coat of Vallejo Mecha gloss varnish (I was intending on trying out my Oilbrushers on this at the time, but then went a different direction while running a different experiment on another piece of terrain I was working on). Come to think of it, I have a full large box of Pegasus Hobbies Hexagon as well as Platformer terrain I could experiment on tomorrow to see if it was me not realizing I had to put a barrier layer in between the two. Such would also give me something to try those Oilbrushers out on too!

I'm not sure if you are aware of this, but I learned most of my techniques from military modelling and fantasy gaming. Granted, I think the Games Workshop paints might be a giveaway. One thing you may want to try if you have access to it is Pledge Revive It, or whatever its local variant is. It has different labels depending upon where you live. "Revive It" is its current label in North America. It was known as Future, and I think it was/is called Johnson's Klear in the UK. Either way, it's a good acrylic coat. Normally it's gloss, but if you cut it with Tamiya Flat Clear you can change it to Satin down to a dead-flat acrylic finish that I prefer over Dullcote Lacquer.

@@JCsRiptrack In all honesty, I thought you used the Citadel paints because of their pigment density, vibrant colours, just how thick they are (handy for numerous techniques), and the fact they're rather easy to acquire! While I do prefer Reaper Bones as my main paints (with Mission Models as my secondary go to), Citadel is my go to for several colours, namely reds, purples, and metallics. One of the core reasons I tried out Mission Models paints is the Canadian distributor is in the same city I live in - Donna at Maple Airbrush is awesome! That and I wanted something to go alongside the GW Citadel paints for "quick and easy, able to pick up same day in town" kind of paints - something that's especially useful if you run out of something in the middle of winter. As for military models, I've been slowly looking further into a lot of the techniques they use for various reasons, but one of them was to be able to add a little more to my models for Infinity, come up with more realistic looking bases, as well as some of the different tools one can use. Scale military modellers are also ones I've been watching to get more info and advice for some of the projects that I've kind of playfully put in under the label " Project: 'Heresy' ". Basically, it's models I've wanted to paint, but wound up going for my own spin on, such as "what would happen if gnolls... stole. a. tank" (currently called "Midnight Raid", and will feature three 1/48 scale Tamiya kits - a JGSDF LAV, JGSDF Type 10 tank, and an M1A2 Abrams... All painted in swat flat black but with inspiration from Akira and Ghost in the Shell (1995)). Another on the cards is a Revell 1/48 scale A-10 which I'm seriously thinking I'll do up in 410 squadron's 2003 Tiger Meet paint scheme, and instead of the Cougar on the tail it's going to be 408 squadron's unofficial mascot from the Bosnia conflict in the mid-90's. Last one (at least that's planned for now), will be a 1/48 scale F/A-18B, done up in a combination of the original and most recent paint schemes Ken Fowler of Rocket Aerobatics had on his Harmon Rocket II up until the unfortunate incident on September 26th, 2020. It will have 409's insignia from when they were based out of Comox, as well as 442's. Hence why the "air quotes" around the word Heresy. I like the models, and want to build and paint them, I just want to put my own spin on them - especially that F/A-18B. They just won't be accurate to real life, but I'll do everything I can to make them look like they'd belong in the real world ^_^ The pledge trick is something I may try out at some point. I suspect my main preference for what I'm using right now is the typical "I've used it, and it just works". Probably would be a lot cheaper to use that stuff though. Never hurts to try out something new or different - the past few times I've tried something new I've gotten some rather lovely results (spattering techniques with brush taps got me a fiendish looking Skaven Warlord, and sponging techniques got a rather well weathered crashed Aquila Lander, to name a few - which reminds me, I really need to clear an area to take pics of that lander "assembled" with all five pieces together in the same photo under lights)

Airbrushes are still a great tool to have in one's arsenal. I use mine frequently, although for weathering, it's mostly about the clearcoats!

I first realized the power of oil paints a few years ago watching what’s neat with Ken Patterson here on RU-vid and my technique has evolved from there. I’m going to look into those oil paints you use though! Thank you for the awesome tutorial!

Not a problem. The Abteilung 502 oil colours and the Ammo by Mig Oilbrusher/Streakingbrusher kits are very nice to work with oils in a quick and less-messy way!

I think I did misspeak. I think it's the Bragdon powders that have some sort of adhesive to them. I have those, but I've not used them much. I am always happy to give credit where credit is due, Ralph. It wouldn't have occurred to me to use the Gouache for that effect you hadn't encouraged me to try them out!

I've not done subway cars, but the principles behind it are the same. :) I probably could :)

I have an N-Scale Mikado 2-8-2 that will represent a fictional historical sightseeing train on my layout. I will be weathering it, but since it is a restoration, it will be kept pretty clean. Weathering N-Scale isn't too different, just less paint and tighter spaces :)

Please make sure to share your weathering this too. I plan on doing the same thing. Thanks, Chris

It'd be an interesting challenge. Weathering something enough to create the illusion of size, but light enough to make sure it looks like a polished restored locomotive. :)

I'm just starting to try weathering on rolling stock. Been fun so far

It's okay. You can use oil paint straight from the tube to make the dots and then use the thinner to blend, but the tube oils can be more concentrated. So you can slightly thin down tube oil paint before applying it to the model, or you can wet the surface of the model with thinner first. Does that help?

Should be X-21 flat base. My mistake.

I sometimes shield them with a card, or mask them off, but I also use very very light layers with the clearcoat and try to avoid the drivers and siderods. I sometimes used a q-tip and some rubbing alcohol to clean those spots if I got some on them. Additionally, cleaning the wheels after the weathering process is a really good idea. When I am airbrushing the clear coats, I often remove the nozzle cap, and spray very close to the model surface at a low pressure so I can control the spray as much as possible.

@@JCsRiptrack I would like to paint/weather the drivers, siderods, and valve gear; I guess I should just brush paint them. Should I use a decanted self etching primer on the rods and valve gear?

Fair point. I record everything I do real time, and then condense it down into an explainer-style video, complete with a narrative. In all it took me about 5-6 hours of work time to weather this locomotive.

Inappropriate comment

All my buildings are weathered and all of my freight cars on the layout (once it is ready for operating sessions) will be weathered before they are allowed to run on the layout (granted I am not there yet). To me, anything that does not show at least some weathering (be it locos, rolling stock, buildings, automotive vehicles, etc.) looks totally unrealistic and the ruins the effect that I am hoping to achieve.

@@TheSwitchList So, a RR purchasing and running a brand new loco on it's lines is unrealistic? If you like the excessive weathering, that's fine. I don't, which is why I run passenger trains. In my opinion, the train should look as fantastic as the service it provides.

@@poopjeans1135 No, a brand new loco running on the railroad is obviously not unrealistic at all. A brand new loco and brand new passenger cars is also not unrealistic (a whole train of brand new freight cars is much less realistic although I suppose a unit train of brand new cars is feasible). But a brand new loco pulling brand new cars past brand new (unweathered) buildings (which was part of your original post) is completely unrealistic. But if that is what you prefer then go for it - lots of Model Railroaders like to keep their equipment in pristine condition. Three is more than room enough in this great hobby for everyone. I was just putting my two cents in on weathering and what I view as realistic. Regards

@@TheSwitchList My comment about unweather cars and buildings is in reference to the clip shown in the video. There are freight cars and buildings visible that are NOT weathered. Weathering is one of those things, where its either weather EVERYTHING, or nothing. There is NO in between as it destroys the effect. That's what I was referring to initially.

@@poopjeans1135 Can't argue with that - not everything on my layout is weathered... yet. I guess I should not have started weathering anything since I could not weather EVERYTHING all at once. All that time and effort wasted 😪